New Delhi, May 6 (IANS) After Mamata Banerjee announced that she would not step down from her position as Chief Minister, the BJP stated on Wednesday that the election results reflect the will of democracy and that she should accept the defeat and apologise.

Speaking to IANS, BJP Rajya Sabha member Dinesh Sharma said, “The question of resignation does not arise, as her tenure has already ended and the public has not given her the mandate to continue. It appears as though she wants to remain in the Chief Minister’s chair forcefully. The wrongdoings of her party are now bearing fruit.”

He further added, “Earlier, you managed the voting process, but this time you could not. That is why you lost. This is the result of democracy, so you should accept the verdict with folded hands.”

BJP National Spokesperson R.P. Singh said, “There is a Hindi saying, ‘Khisiyani billi khamba noche’. After losing the elections, making allegations serves no purpose. Around 92 per cent of voters participated in Bengal, showing their confidence in the BJP.”

BJP leader Ram Kripal Yadav said, “Arrogance has no place in a democracy. The public mandate has gone against you, and it should be respected. You should resign.”

Trinamool Congress witnessed a major defeat in the West Bengal Assembly elections after 15 years of uninterrupted rule in the state. The outgoing Chief Minister, Mamata Banerjee, on Tuesday, stressed the necessity of strengthening the INDIA bloc to organise a national movement against the BJP and the NDA-ruled Centre. She also ruled out the possibility of voluntarily tendering her resignation to the Governor as the outgoing Chief Minister.

According to her, the “defeat” of Trinamool Congress this time was not a “defeat” in the real sense, as the results did not reflect the true public mandate.

“Why shall I resign now? We are not defeated in the true sense. The results are reflections of massive misappropriation and vote-looting. So, where does the question of resignation come,” Mamata Banerjee told media persons on Tuesday afternoon at a press conference. She was accompanied by her nephew and Trinamool Congress General Secretary, Abhishek Banerjee and a host of members of the outgoing state Cabinet led by her.

Speaking on the occasion, she also claimed that after the results were declared on Monday night, she received solidarity calls from all top leaders of the constituents of the INDIA bloc. According to her, top leaders from the INDIA bloc, like Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Arvind Kejriwal, Akhilesh Yadav and Hemant Soren, called her and assured her of support.

–IANS

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